Wax Works has released his new EP ‘Leave It All Behind’.
The second EP follows his debut EP ‘Why You So Sad?’, which was supported by BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders and Gemma Bradley.
To celebrate his EP release, Wax Works shared with us 5 tracks that influenced ‘Leave It All Behind’.
Wallows (feat. Clairo) – Are You Bored Yet? | Listen via Spotify
‘Lost & Found’ was inspired by the feature on verse 2 structure of this track. As well as this I took a lot of inspiration from the lead guitar tone in ‘Are You Bored Yet?’, playing pentatonic lines with slap back delay.
Dayglow – Close To You | Listen via Spotify
This tune by Dayglow was on repeat for me for about 6 months! Dopamine came out of hearing this song. Straight away I started experimenting with 80’s sounding delayed synth lines. This track was also a reference for the percussion and leaping octave bass-line in Dopamine!
Sfven – backseat | Listen via Spotify
I’ve been listening to Sfven’s music for a couple years now after being fortunate enough to work with him on a song for my last EP called ‘Puffer Coat’. ‘backseat’ is my favourite track of his as it’s just the perfect driving song. I took inspiration from its punchy bass and drum parts in ‘Fine Line’. ‘backseat’ also helped shape some of the vocal production of ‘Fine Line’, as I used tight doubles and saturation.
Dayglow – Medicine | Listen via Spotify
Dayglow’s second entry in this list comes in the form of ‘Medicine’ from his sophomore album ‘Harmony House’. ‘Lost & Found’ features a harmonies guitar solo in the breakdown – an idea that came after hearing the breakdown in ‘Medicine’. I loved how it sounded almost comical – like the breakdown was there for some kind of corny dance routine. I also slapped a cowbell in just for good measure.
Rex Orange County – Corduroy Dreams | Listen via Spotify
It’s fairly obvious the chord sequence and guitar tone of ‘Grace Lee, I’ll Be Fine’ shows resemblance to ‘Corduroy Dreams’. I’ve always wanted a more stripped back, guitar and vocal style song and it finally came along on this EP! I love the jazzy chords and the way the vocals guide the other parts in the track – something I tried to focus on whilst piecing together ‘Grace Lee, I’ll Be Fine’.
Stream Wax Works ‘Leave It All Behind’ EP below via Spotify:
Listen to the 5 tracks that influenced the EP: